Here are things happening in the region: 

Cheap Trick to play Wild Adventures

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Legendary rock band Cheap Trick will play Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta Saturday. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. 

 

Tractor show this weekend at Prater’s Mill

VARNELL, Ga. — Sherry Sexton will demonstrate homemade biscuit-making this weekend at the Peach State Antique Tractor and Engine Club Show at historic Prater’s Mill. The event is Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Biscuit-making will be offered at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday in the country store. Visitors to the tractor show can enjoy guided tours of the mill, gin and country store for a small fee. Free activities are hay rides, children’s barrel rides, a stick pony race and a pedal tractor race. A Meadows Mill will grind corn into meal, and lots of tractors will participate in the Parade of Power. For more information, visit www.peachstatetractor.com.

 

Healthy Kids Day at YMCA Hunt Park this Saturday

TIFTON, Ga. — April is the Month of the Military Child and to celebrate, Healthy Kids Day is planned for Saturday at the Tiftarea YMCA Hunt Park. This event is not just for military children. According to Tinie Stringfield, family assistance specialist for the Tifton National Guard Armory, the event will start at 10 a.m. at Hunt Park, 1823 Westover Road. Lunch and swimming will be from noon to 2 p.m. There will be local vendors, health and wellness information, healthy snacks, fun games and activities and free swimming.

 

Parade comes up mostly roses

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Rained loomed and at times fell all day April 22, but officials charged with putting on the 68th annual Thomasville Rose Festival were determined the show would go on. The rain stopped — for good — about 6 p.m. The parade was set to roll an hour later. What festival officials usually have all day on parade day to prepare, they had an hour. The biggest fear of Karen Smith, Thomasville Main Street and Tourism director, was that parade entries and spectators would not show up. Instead, parade units were ready to go, and spectators lined the streets to watch the event, said City of Thomasville Events Director Sarah Turner. Employees in the Main Street and Tourism office, as well as staff from other City of Thomasville departments, will gather to discuss what was good about the city-sponsored event and what needs improvement. Said Smith, “There’s always areas for improvement.” Smith and Turner always want “bigger and better and are never happy.” Smith said three major gaps in the festival parade resulted when some walker groups stopped and performed at intervals. Next year, parade marshals will be posted along the parade route to keep units at a constant flow.

 

Students learn from World War II historian

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Thomas County Middle School sixth-grade students welcomed author and historian Dr. Annette Laing to their media center recently. These students have studied World War II as a part of their curriculum for the past two years. Laing’s presentation was called “Could You Be a World War II Kid?” Students learned how air raids, food rationing, blackouts and evacuations affected citizens of England, particularly children, during World War II. Laing used artifacts, multimedia, period costumes and readings from her book, “Don’t Know Where, Don’t Know When,” to make history come alive for the students. “We love to have authors visit in our media center,” media specialist Erin Rehberg said.  “The students were totally engaged during Dr. Laing’s presentation and she did a fantastic job of transporting the children from Thomas County in 2016 to England in the 1940s. She made history exciting for the students.”Georgia College holds spring 2016 commencement ceremonies

 

Georgia College holds commencement

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Georgia College will hold its spring commencement ceremonies Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7, at the Centennial Center, 251 South Clark St. in Milledgeville.More than 1,350 students will receive their undergraduate and graduate degrees pending final grades for the semester.Alumnus E. Alex Gregory will serve as the keynote speaker for the graduate ceremony. A retired commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves, philanthropist and champion of higher education, Gregory is the chairman, president and CEO of YKK Corporation of America. Two undergraduate ceremonies will be held Saturday, May 7. The College of Arts and Sciences processional begins at 8:45 a.m. with the ceremony starting at 9 a.m., and the College of Business, College of Education and College of Health Sciences processional starts at 1:45 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets are required for attendance to the undergraduate ceremonies.The speaker for the undergraduate ceremonies is alumna Dr. Amy A. Smith, a board-certified physician in pediatric hematology/oncology with specific training in pediatric neuro-oncology.Undergraduate student graduates hail from 10 states aside from Georgia and 12 different countries around the world.

 

Kids Safety Fair set for Saturday in Lenox

LENOX, Ga. — The South Georgia Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving will sponsor a Kids Safety Expo 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the ball field by Highway 41 in Lenox. Several area law enforcement and emergency response agencies will be there, presenting safety information and handouts. Among the planned attractions are Sparky the Fire Dog, the DUI Simulator, the Crash Test Dummies, a smoke house simulator and the BatMobile from Albany. For more information, email MADD South Georgia Community Site Leader Gary Robinson at gafireman42@yahoo.com.

 

Moultrie library to host book sale

MOULTRIE — The Friends of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library are holding their fifth annual used book sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7, and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at the library located at 204 Fifth St. S.E. in Moultrie. Items for sale include pre-owned hardback and paperback books, movies and children’s books priced from 25 cents to $2. Special features this year include a large collection of donated science fiction books and a large amount of children’s books. In addition to the Saturday sale, the event includes a preview sale from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 6, for members of the Friends of the Library. Memberships are open to anyone and available at the library during operating hours and during the preview sale. Annual membership dues are $5 for students, $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $25 for families. Contributor, sponsor and benefactor levels are also available. The Saturday and Sunday sales are open to the public.  From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday shoppers can fill a paper grocery bag provided by the Friends for $4 per bag. Items not sold will be donated to the prison, local nonprofits and to an organization that sends books to underdeveloped countries.

 

Serious injuries in semi accident

JASPER, Fla. — One person was life flighted to UF Health Shands in Gainesville with serious injuries after rear-ending a semi on Friday, April 22, according to Florida Highway Patrol.  James Gilltard Jr., 47, of Lee was traveling northbound on SW County Road 249  around 8 a.m. and began to slow as he approached SW 90 Boulevard, according to the report.  Larry Hart, 51, of Live Oak was traveling behind Gilltard and failed to slow, according to FHP.  Hart struck the left rear of Gilltard’s trailer, according to the report. Hart was treated on scene for serious injuries by Hamilton County EMS and was then life flighted to UF Health Shands in Gainesville, according to the report. FHP has charged Hart with careless driving.

 

Cafe opens at Spirit of Suwannee

LIVE OAK, Fla. — There’s a new restaurant team in town at The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park’s SOS Café. Beginning Monday, May 2, the SOS Café will be open six days a week, Monday – Saturday, opening  at 7 a.m. for breakfast and continuing through lunch and dinner. The SOS Café is located on the grounds of the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP) just 4.5 miles north of Interstate 10 at Live Oak and 4.5 miles south of Interstate 75 on US 129 at the Suwannee River.